AHIF 2018: Hilton plans to double in size in Africa over next five years

2 October 2018

As it continues to grow its presence in Africa by introducing new brands and entering new countries, Hilton announced it is on track to more than double in size in the next five years.

At the same time, the company has revealed the opening of Legend Hotel Lagos Airport, Curio Collection by Hilton - the company’s first Curio property in Africa.

Legend Hotel Lagos Airport is located at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, which serves more than eight million passengers each year.

The stylish hotel is adjacent to the airport’s private jet terminal and has an exclusive immigrations and customs desk in the hotel for private jet passengers.

Handpicked to be part of the exclusive collection of one-of-a-kind hotels and resorts celebrated for their individuality, the hotel joins more than 60 Curio Collection hotels around the world.

ADVERTISEMENT

This is Hilton’s first hotel in Lagos and its second in Nigeria, with an additional seven hotels in its development pipeline for the country.

Speaking at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum in Nairobi, Hilton chief executive, Chris Nassetta, said: “We continue to innovate in Africa with new brands and products, and we are pleased to introduce our Curio Collection brand here with the opening of Legend Hotel Lagos Airport.

“As the continent continues to undergo rapid urbanisation, with the UN forecasting that the world’s ten fastest-growing cities will all be in Africa by 2035, this hotel is a part of our strategy to connect guests to key cities and airport locations across the region.”

Hilton is seeing strong demand for its brands across the continent and expects to open eight hotels in total across Africa this year, three of which will fly under the Hilton Garden Inn flag.

This brand appeals to the rising tide of middle-class travellers into and across Africa and the company expects to open at least 16 Hilton Garden Inn hotels in the coming five years, including brand entries in Kampala, Ghana, Malawi, eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) and many other strategic locations across sub-Saharan Africa.

Last year, Hilton launched the Hilton Africa Growth Initiative, which will support the conversion of existing hotels to Hilton brands with an investment of US$50 million over five years.

During that period, Hilton expects to secure 100 conversion opportunities with some 15-20,000 rooms added to its portfolio to meet the growing need for quality branded hotels across the continent.

Hilton is committed to growth and opportunity across Africa and has been a continuous presence on the continent since 1959.

With 41 open hotels and 53 in its development pipeline in Africa, Hilton expects to double its footprint across the continent in the next five years.

This includes market entries in 13 countries where it does not currently operate including Botswana, Ghana, eSwatini (formerly Swaziland), Uganda, Malawi and Rwanda.

Africa Hotel Investment Forum

AHIF is the premier hotel investment conference in Africa, attracting many prominent international hotel owners, investors, financiers, management companies and their advisers.

It is organised by Bench Events, which has an established record of delivering high-level networking and thought leadership conferences for hospitality investment and aviation in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Related Event

The Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) is the only annual hotel investment conference that connects business leaders from the international and local markets. The event brings together the who’s who of the hotel investment community that drive investment into tourism projects, infrastructure and hotel development across Africa.